The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 595 We've finally figured it out! Wait, is that armor going to attach to the boss?!
Shen Le held the half-belt in his hands and remained silent for a long, long time. In the end, he gave up the idea of ​​completely repairing it or cutting a new belt and forcibly sewing it on.

Every cut and tear on this belt is an indelible medal, a testament to the belt's owner's joy, sorrow, pride, and pain.

Such a belt could be placed in a museum and walk in openly without any embellishment.

Just like that belt in the National Museum of China, the writing on the back and the cuts at the end both bear witness to the past hardships and glories...

He turned the belt over, carefully flattened it, and stared intently at the grooves and holes on the front, examining them closely.

If these belt buckles are metal pieces, then the way they are attached to the belt is to make small holes in the belt and then nail the belt buckles onto it.

A jade belt? A jade belt has a metal tray at the bottom, with small holes made on the side of the metal tray, which is then nailed to the belt.

In any case, over time, this method of joining will cause the belt buckle to press shallow grooves into the hard leather belt.

At the edge of the small hole, obvious cracks and deformation can be observed, which may be due to the leather strap being tightened, or something hanging on the belt buckle and sagging down...

Shen Le held the belt in his hands, looked at it for a long time, then covered it with a very thin piece of tracing paper, tilted the pencil, and gently smeared it on the paper.

A faint rustling sound passed by, and soon after, one blurry black shadow after another appeared on the paper:

"Hmm, these plaques include one large circle, two crescent-shaped plaques, four semicircles, two squares, and two rectangles..."

He counted them one by one. There were 11 in total, which was a fairly high-grade gold band.

As for the pattern on it, I'm sorry, the marks left by the belt buckle on the leather belt can only be seen on the back, not the front, so it's impossible to speculate. We can only guess from the belt buckle itself.

Moreover, there is something very strange:

"Why is the front of this leather belt...the part that touches the belt buckle so dirty? It's like the belt buckle is long gone, and the leather belt has been worn by its owner for a very, very long time?"

Shen Le stroked the belt in his hand. After hesitating for a while, he rummaged through the cabinet and found a tube of luminol reagent.

Turn off the lights, close the doors and windows to keep the surrounding environment completely dark, hold up the reagent, and spray it carefully on the front of the belt:

"It's lit up...it really is lit up! This bloodstain is spread out over a large area on the leather belt, and there are traces of blood dripping and wiping marks in the recessed parts of the belt buckle!"

Shen Le lay prone in front of the belt, snapping photos rapidly, her eyes gleaming in the darkness:

"This mark indicates that for a period of time, the belt buckle had disappeared, and the blood fell directly onto the leather belt!"

and so……

what happened……

The leather belt remained silent, simply lying flat. Shen Le let out a long sigh and then examined the broken metal pieces again:

The metal sheet is uneven, with patterns, cracks, signs of being squeezed and worn over time, and layers of rust.

Many of the marks are extremely fine, almost invisible to the naked eye, and can only be seen under a magnifying glass or microscope.

Only by personally hammering and chiseling could Shen Le discern the origin of these marks and distinguish their formation time.

“This is a chisel mark…”

After carefully removing the rust from all the metal sheets, taking care not to damage the surface finishing marks, Shen Le took a piece of paper and began to trace the patterns on the metal sheets, stroke by stroke:
"This is also a chisel mark... The raised part here should be a hammer mark, where the pattern was hammered out of the gold belt buckle. No, it's more likely that the pattern was hammered out of a ready-made stamping die..."

This one also has a hammer mark, struck from the front downwards, likely a blunt force injury. The belt shielded its owner from the blow, so it must have been quite severe… This one…”

He used his mental power to levitate the metal piece, held it in front of him, and stared at it intently. The metal piece floated closer and closer, until Shen Le was almost cross-eyed, but he still couldn't make out what it was:
"Strange... how did these marks get there? The edges are flat, the sides are raised, and there are some twisted marks... this..."

After looking at the photos for a long time, I still couldn't figure it out, so I sent the macro photos to a few professors and asked them for their guidance.

Professor Bai glanced at it and laughed. He held the A4 paper in his left hand, spread his right index and middle fingers, aligned them with the edge of the paper, closed them, then spread them again, and closed them again.

Isn't that how it is?

"Cut?"

Shen Le was stunned. This was a gold belt buckle!
It was an award from the imperial court, an honor for the officials!
How could it have been cut into pieces?

Who could be so ruthless? With one snip, aside from the value of the gold itself—which is mixed with a lot of silver and copper, so there's not much gold in it—it's all gone!
"It must have been cut." Professor Bai sighed, clearly regretting this act of discarding a precious gem. His old eyes still held a detached indifference, as if he had seen it all before.
"These things... in the most difficult times, they can only be used as precious metals, and even then, being able to be used as precious metals is considered very, very lucky..."

Shen Le was dejected. He took matters into his own hands and used 3D printing to replicate several metal sheets. Then, based on the marks of bending and hammering, he restored all the external deformations to their original state.

Then, piece by piece, they were placed within the original outline of the gold belt buckle drawn on white paper. By comparing them in this way, a rough outline of the original pattern of the gold belt buckle emerged:
"Hmm...it looks about right...in the center is a lion hunting image, next to two crescent-shaped figures, which should be a pair of lions leaping up with their claws outstretched, and then four semicircles..."

His speed in restoring the pattern was phenomenal. Meanwhile, the group of students at Chang'an Jiaotong University, who were also working tirelessly on algorithms, were working day and night.
"hurry up!"

"The boss is almost done!"

"I saw that he has already drawn three pictures today! There are only five different outlines in total. If they are all symmetrical, there are only two more to go before he finishes drawing them!"

"We won't be needed then!"

"Don't rush me—I'm almost done here too! The shape that came out this time is basically a perfect match, there's only one slightly odd thing—let me revise the algorithm again and run it once more!"

"Are you sure you can handle this? Should we ask someone else for help? Or maybe we should ask Northwestern Polytechnical University? If they can't, the Seven Sons of National Defense can surely pull some more people in..."

"Why don't you suggest recruiting some of your friends from top tech companies! The kind who rise to the top through algorithms, get jobs right after graduation, and earn millions a year!"

"I was thinking, isn't the problem that we lack connections? Why don't we ask the boss? He graduated from a top 2 university, he must have connections, right?"

"Then what's the point of us working?!"

Complaining, grumbling, and playful banter all mingled as they worked harder, harder, harder. Finally, while Shen Le was drawing up the simulation diagrams of the various metal sheets, the algorithm team also delivered their results:

"Boss, how about this? We think we've already done our best..."

Shen Le: "..."

Don't call me boss. I'm not your boss. I'm just a client at most. You all have your own mentors, don't you?

Standing on the other side of the screen, with a piece of printing paper in one hand and a 3D-printed metal sheet in the other, I laid out the artifact metal sheets that I had dug out in the desert one by one.

Place the paper template of the belt outline down, and then place the 3D-printed metal pieces one by one onto each outline:

"Very good, perfectly fitted, first hurdle passed. Wait a minute, let me check the pattern..."

"We've compared the patterns!"

Professor Bai's doctoral student, relying on the fact that he had eaten with Shen Le a few times, couldn't wait and was the first to speak.

Shen Le looked up and smiled at him. Slowly and methodically, she took the belt and placed the printed metal sheets, one by one, into the grooves of the belt.
Wait a moment, then place the original item in its correct position on the printed metal sheet. Hold your breath and wait quietly.

no response.

There was absolutely no reaction.

"Boss? What's going on?"

The three algorithm engineers peered in, even though their viewpoint was fixed and they couldn't possibly see any better even by standing on tiptoe. They insisted on pressing their faces against the screen, their eyes practically glued to it.

The metal sheets we make are guaranteed to be a 1:1 replica of the originals, so you don't need to compare them like this!

Then, everything went black—truly black. Shen Le snapped off the camera, severing the communication channel between the two sides, and placed his hands on both ends of the belt, beginning to input heat:
"Ladies and gentlemen, feel it, is the placement correct, does it suit your taste? — Are the shapes of those metal pieces below what you remember?"

If so, please give feedback! Even a like would be appreciated!

He silently recited it in his mind. The heat surged, spreading from the belt to the metal plate, then rising upwards from the metal plate and spreading to the topmost metal sheet.

Gradually, these metal pieces began to float up, rustling and making a sound as they scraped against the metal plate below. Shen Le frowned, staring at them:

"Take it easy, you guys—they're already so thin, any more friction and they'll get a hole! I finally managed to fix you!"

The metal pieces remained silent, merely shifting. Fortunately, the shifts weren't significant; most were just slight tilts or angle changes, pushing aside their neighbors. The most drastic shift was no more than a mere 2 centimeters, moving from the upper left of its original outline to the lower right.

Then, all the metal sheets sank down together, tightly bonding with the metal plate handed over by the algorithm team:
"Wait! Wait a minute!"

Shen Lehan got up. He quickly let go and stopped the heat output:
"Don't rush to sink in! If you want to absorb the power of the metal element, I'll provide you with the ready-made, pre-prepared solution. Don't absorb other people's creations!"

Fortunately, he stopped quickly. The metal pieces twitched a few times, then quietly floated up and separated from the assignment submitted by the algorithm team.

Shen Le breathed a sigh of relief and quickly took the picture:
Good, good. It seems these metal pieces are quite receptive to their prototypes. That's good; he can then use the shapes created by the algorithm team to directly supplement the metal pieces...

"Good, basically it's good enough." He turned the camera back on and gave a "V" sign to the algorithm team on the other side:
"Once I've repaired and restored these gold belt buckles, you can finish your thesis! Congratulations!"

"yeah!!!"

The three algorithm engineers jumped for joy, hugging each other. Regardless of what kind of paper they'd publish or how much money they'd made, the important thing was that they were finally...
Finally!
Before the boss finishes everything!
Now they can finally say: What we did was somewhat useful and helped the sponsors who provided the funding!
It wasn't because they benefited from the teacher's connections, nor because the sponsors were generous; it was because they worked incredibly hard to achieve this!
Well, even though Shen Le gave them some leeway and went off to repair the belt, it was still something they risked their lives to make...

Only Professor Bai's student was trembling with fear. He waved frantically at Shen Le through the camera, shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Mr. Shen! Senior Shen! Please go easy on me when you're doing the restoration! Leave some photos of the repair work before you start!"

They needed to include photos, including photos showing signs of restoration, in their paper for it to pass review!
If, like Shen Le previously repaired it, he used his superpowers to glue the two metal pieces together, it would look like a single, complete metal piece, without any trace of repair.

Submitting photos like this will get your paper rejected!
Shen Le smiled, waved to them, and nodded vigorously.

He obtained a metal plate made of gold, silver, and copper alloy, melted down according to the proportions measured from the metal sheet, and began to manually forge, punch, and engrave it.
"It's just a few gold plaques, isn't it? It's easy. I've learned goldsmithing from Master Lu! I can handle it!"

Most importantly, the 3D printed gold belt buckle image can be molded into a mold, and then the mold can be used to directly hammer it onto the metal plate, saving a lot of work!
Shen Le practiced ping-pong for two or three days straight, and successfully completed a full set of gold belt plaques.

Then, following the shape of the original metal sheet, cut out the pieces and place them together with the original:
"That's enough, let's take the picture!"

Take photos, take photos from multiple angles, scan them carefully. After submitting a batch of photos and receiving approval that "this should be usable in a paper," Shen Le began to unleash her creativity:
"It's such a pity that these gold belt buckles can't be made of pure gold... I wonder where they came from, whether they were produced locally or bestowed by Chang'an."

Anyway, I'll first make a pure gold one, and then see what they think!

He clattered and banged, then turned and started hitting again. Pure gold was relatively soft and easier to hit than the previous alloy version. Shen Le had practiced once before, and his speed had increased considerably.
In less than two days, they produced a batch of pure gold version of the gold belt buckle fragments, which they then stacked together, one on top of the other, and pieced together with the metal pieces they had dug out of the desert.

Take a break, take out two different boxes of metal, sandwich the metal pieces you dug out of the desert between them, and carefully try to make them fit together as much as possible:

Below is a thin metal plate, and the gold, silver and copper alloy is melted down according to the proportions measured on the metal sheet;

On top is a stack of gold leaf, made of high-purity gold. It is draped over metal sheets, taking care not to put pressure on the metal sheets or cause them to deform.

Finally, lift the armor and lay it flat on the table, then lay the leather straps flat on the armor, and finally place the metal plates flat on top of the leather straps:

"Alright! I've given you all the bonuses I could—come on, see which one you want!"

He pressed his hands against the iron armor. The helmet, shoulder guards, arm guards, and body armor all trembled slightly at the same time, as if they were glowing.

Shen Le seemed oblivious, focusing on circulating the heat within his body throughout the armor, awakening the spirit within these fragments:
And indeed, the spirit of the fragments was awakened. Soon, the gold leaf covering the fragments, like snowflakes encountering a furnace, softened, melted, and seeped into the metal, disappearing completely.
"So you also want to use gold? You also wish you were pure gold?"
Yes, pure gold would be so much better. If it were during the Tang Dynasty's golden age, it would have been pure gold to receive the treatment it deserved..."

The gold leaf melted away piece by piece, merging into the metal sheet. Several little ones squatted nearby, holding their breath and watching Shen Le's restoration work intently;

As a piece of gold leaf vanished, a strand of black hair quietly rose, lifting another piece from the side and covering the metal sheet. The movement was fluid and effortless, without disturbing a speck of dust.

Gradually, those gold belt buckles that had been twisted, bent, and deformed by the heavy hammer began to shine brightly and began to stretch out.
The broken pieces that had been cut in two began to extend to the sides, fitting together with the pure gold fragments that Shen Le had replaced them with;
A little while later, the gold and silver alloy below also quietly melted and deformed, turning into thin nails that connected to the small holes in the metal sheet:
"It's done! It's finally done!"

Shen Le breathed a long sigh of relief. Within the range of his mental energy, eleven glittering gold ornaments were arranged in a row, lying across the leather belt;

Although it hasn't yet settled into its original grooves and become one with the leather straps, it has already undergone a complete transformation.

"When you were first created, ready to be given away or distributed, were you like this?"

Shen Le gently stroked the gold ornament in front of her, her expression wistful.

The largest circular piece in the center is engraved with a lion hunting a beast. The lion's muscles are bulging, and the mane carved by the engraving knife is spread out in strands, making it almost possible to hear its roar.
The crescent-shaped ornaments on both sides depict two lions standing on their hind legs with their front legs raised, pawing at something in an unidentified manner, their expressions vivid.
On the two semi-circular fragments on either side, lions are playing with embroidered balls, and the mother lion is leading her cubs. The embroidered balls are clearly visible, and the mother lion's love and the cubs' liveliness are immediately apparent...

"It's really beautiful... Putting aside the quality it represents, the engraving technique alone is exquisite... What kind of person, or under what circumstances, would be willing to cut it open..."

He carefully embedded each of the ornaments into the leather belt, then gently tapped the nails on top to secure them.

After a long while, once everything was secured, the armor was hung up and the leather straps were fastened to it.
"There's no hook, and the leather strap isn't long enough, so this is the best we can do for now... If you're not satisfied, I can help you... Huh?!"

Suddenly everything went black as his helmet flew off on its own and landed directly on his forehead.

The movement was too rough; there wasn't even time to adjust the direction, so the back of the helmet was pointed directly at Shen Le's face, completely blocking his vision...

"Hey! My nose!!!"

Shen Le's nose stung with pain, and he almost burst into tears. He raised his hands to move the helmet, but just as he was halfway up, his shoulders sank:
The arm guards were draped over his shoulders and arms, followed by the shoulder pads, and then the entire suit of armor spread its arms, hanging over him like an embrace.

Shen Le struggled for a moment, but couldn't break free and almost fell to the ground. Just as he regained his footing, everything went completely black.

When I opened my eyes again, the world had changed. The wind whistled in my ears, the water roared, and I was riding a horse, striving to keep up.
"Halt! Halt! — Surrender and you will be spared!"

Fifty or sixty paces ahead, several cavalrymen lay prone on their horses, fleeing without looking back. A whistling sound came from beside Shen Le, followed by a frustrated shout:
"Oops! You missed! -- Ah Li, why didn't you shoot?"

I?
Archery?

Shooting arrows on a galloping warhorse?
Shen Le subconsciously untied his riding bow and drew an arrow with a backhand motion. The muscle memory he had developed during his last entry into the illusion provided by the armor seemed to return, helping him nock the arrow, draw the bow, and adjust his aim.
With each breath in and out, slightly adjusting the direction of the bow and arrow, as the warhorse gallops, at the moment it leaps to its highest point and seems to hover, release the bowstring!

Among the fleeing cavalrymen, one was shot in the back and fell from his horse. Shen Le's comrades cheered loudly.
"bingo!"

"Hit!"

"Ah Li is still such a good shooter!"

"I was worried that after you got stabbed, you wouldn't be able to keep your hand steady!"

"Those Tibetans come down the mountain to rob us one minute and another the next—this time we must wipe them out! We must make sure none of them can go back!"

Were the Tibetans coming down from the mountain to rob us?

Shen Le suddenly recalled Jian Tun's memories of the Tibetans who lived in a remote part of the plateau, crossed the snow-capped mountains, and came to rob things, as well as Wangdui who fought repeatedly despite repeated defeats.

As a Tang person, my only stance is to wipe them all out.

They shouted and spurred their horses onward. The Tibetan warhorses were small and could not keep up with the Tang army's horses, so the two sides gradually closed the gap in speed.

Shen Le fired two more arrows, shooting down two men in front of him. The remaining men let out a shout and rounded a bend.
"careful!"

"Watch out, there might be an ambush ahead!"

His comrades reminded each other and urged their horses onward. Two comrades on either side of Shen Le spurred their horses and surged ahead of him; one drew his spear, the other gripped his longsword.

"Get ready to shoot! If there are too many people over there, we'll have to rely on you!"

The horses slowed slightly, kicking up a cloud of dust, and galloped around the bend. Just as the people ahead rounded the corner, a sudden clashing of bowstrings and the clash of weapons arose:
"There is indeed an ambush!"

"What are these few people?"

"kill!"

"Kill them all!"

Shen Le spurred his horse forward, and as soon as he rounded a bend, he drew his bow and fired three arrows in quick succession towards the rear of the battle. Then, he drew his longsword and charged into the crowd.
"kill--"

A spurt of blood gushed out in front of him. He turned his head to avoid the blood and saw the sun-kissed, weathered face of a Tibetan boy, still retaining a childlike innocence, growing larger and larger before him:

On the boy's shoulder, a pair of silver and gold gleaming, somewhat familiar-looking shoulder blades were raised, and the lion raised its head, letting out a silent roar.

(End of this chapter)